Ariel Sacks - Whole Novels for the Whole Class: A Student-Centered Approach

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Sacks, Ariel.

Whole novels for the whole class : a student-centered approach / Ariel Sacks.

pages cm.(Jossey-Bass teacher)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-52650-7 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-118-58483-5 (ebk.)

ISBN 978-1-118-58506-1 (ebk.)

1. FictionStudy and teaching. 2. YouthBooks and reading. 3. Critical thinking. I. Title.

PN3385.S26 2014

809.300712dc23

2013024160

For Madeleine Ray, a true teacher

About the Author

Ariel Sacks has been teaching middle school English in New York City public schools for nine years. She studied progressive pedagogy at Bank Street College of Education and is committed to implementing student-centered methods successfully in public schools. After teaching seventh- and eighth-grade transitional English Language Learners in a bilingual school in East Harlem and serving as eighth-grade English teacher, team leader, and department chair at a middle school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, she currently teaches eighth-grade English and coordinates the grade's advisory program at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School. A coauthor of Teaching 2030: What We Must Do for Our Students and Our Public SchoolsNow and in the Future , Ariel has published articles in Education Week Teacher, Educational Leadership , the New York Daily News , and Bank Street's Occasional Papers Series , and has presented on innovative teaching methods and education policy issues at conferences across the country. She writes regularly about teaching practice and educational issues on her CTQ-featured blog, On the Shoulders of Giants.

The illustrations at the start of each chapter were drawn by Renata Robinson-Glenn, who teaches middle school social studies at the Young Women's Leadership Academy of Queens, New York. She and Ariel both studied middle school education at Bank Street College, where Madeleine Ray was their advisor. Renata first worked with Ariel as a student teacher, leading a whole novel study, and then began teaching social studies at the same school. Renata and Ariel worked together on the same grade team for four years and collaborated in their teaching of literacy, critical thinking, and social skills to their students. When the opportunity to create illustrations for this book arose, Renata brought together her passions for art and student-centered teaching practice to create rich visual representations of concepts from the whole novels method.

Acknowledgments

Years ago, I named my blog On the Shoulders of Giants. Though it may not be the most original name, I could not think of a better one, because I truly believe that any success I have as a teacher and writer is standing on the shoulders of giants. Here I acknowledge some of the giants who helped me write this book.

Madeleine Ray, for sharing your genius, for your incredible persistence, and for your mentorship in helping me become a teacher who takes risks and stands by principles; Kate Gagnon, who saw the potential in this book, took a chance on me, and offered thoughtful support along the way; Robin Lloyd, Tracy Gallagher, and everyone else at Jossey-Bass who helped me through this process and made this book look great and real well; John Norton, for being my writing mentor and encouraging me (and so many others) to find my voice as a teacher writer; Barnett Berry and Jon Snyder, for believing I had important things to say and helping me grow into a teacher leader; Dan Rubenstein, LaNolia Omowanile, Penny Marzulli, and Craig Cetrulo at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, for providing me a wonderful, flexible educational environment to continue developing and sharing the methods in this book; Marcia Stiman-Lavian, Daniel Brink-Washington, and Yusuf Ali, the wonderful learning specialists who have cotaught with me and contributed over the past several years to the development of whole novels methods; the families of my students at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, for supporting me on this project; Nancy Toes Tangel, for your thought partnership, your belief and innovations in the whole novels approach; Anthony Rebora, for helping me first get the idea out there in an article in Education Week Teacher ; Renata Robinson-Glenn, for being an amazing teacher, colleague, friend, and artist; Meredith Byers and Liliana Richter, for your courageous work with whole novels and for keeping up a dialogue with me about it; Makaira Casey, for understanding the method and lending generous help as I was writing the manuscript; Juliana Garofalo, for helping to lead discussions this year and sharing your reflections with me; my husband, Samuel Cruz, for keeping on me to make this book happen and for supporting me during the countless long nights of writing; my parents, for advice, moral support, and your roles as teachers in my life; Baba, for guiding me into the world of literature when I was a child; and all of my students, past and present, for developing whole novels with me, helping me see what's working, and always showing me how it can be better.